When Kamal Haasan Said He Left Bollywood Due To 'Underworld', 'Black Money': 'They Were Spoilt And Rich'

Kamal Haasan is one of the biggest superstars in the Indian film industry, especially when it comes to Tamil cinema. He also ventured into Hindi films with Ek Duuje Ke Liye in 1981. However, after a short stint in Bollywood, Kamal Haasan decided that he did not want to pursue the “Bombay dream”.

“The times… those times were like that. I was a poorer cousin of Hindi cinema. I had to do my own laundry and stuff like that. They were really spoilt and rich. They could make one film for two and a half years and they could do 6 films at a time. I thought that was very defeating in character-building, both morally and technically speaking. That was one of the reasons,” he told India Today in 2017.

Kamal Haasan added, “The other reason was there were too many underworld connections. I didn’t want to stay there to either oppose it or succumb to the threat. I was one of the actors to decide that I would not have anything to do with black money.”

When asked if it was possible for an actor to make it big without corruption, he said, “It is, I’m living proof of it. I’m quite happy. I drove in a car. It is quite possible. Someone else did it earlier. Cameraman Vincent. He never touched black money. It was much before any government threatened him to not keep black money. My brother and I made that call.”

Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan will soon be seen in Kalki 2898 AD with Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone and Disha Patani among others. In a press conference in Mumbai, Kamal said he spent a sizable time with director Nag Ashwin to come up with the look for the film. Kamal will be playing the villain in the film.

“I was mourning to Amit ji in the backstage that I always wanted to play the bad man. The bad man gets to do all the good things in films. Where the heroes are singing romantic songs and waiting for the heroine, I thought I am going to play the bad man so it is going to be fun. (Nag) wanted it to be different so I am almost like a sage with a bad idea,” Kamal said.

Kalki 2898 AD will be released in cinemas on June 27. There is already quite a buzz surrounding the film and it will be interesting to watch if it matches up to its hype.